Company of Heroes
Company of Heroes Company of Heroes is a real-time strategy video game developed by Relic Entertainment. It was released on September 12, 2006, and was the first title to make use of the Games for Windows label. A standalone expansion, Opposing Fronts, was released on September 25, 2007. A second standalone expansion, Tales of Valor was released in April 2009. Company of Heroes Online, an MMO version of the game was released as a free-to-play, microtransaction based game in South Korea in April 2010.[1][2] Company of Heroes: Online Open Beta ended on March 31st, 2011. According to Relic Entertainment, the reason for the servers being shut down was the developers' new unnamed RTS project which was to be unveiled in August 2011.[3] It was announced on February 21, 2012 by Aspyr Media that they would be releasing Company of Heroes and all of the standalone expansions to the Mac OS X platform on March 1, 2012.[4] This also happened, and Company of Heroes is now also available on the Mac App Store. Company of Heroes is set during World War II. In the single-player campaign the player commands two U.S. military units during the Battle of Normandy and the Allied liberation of France. Depending on the mission, the player controls either Able Company of the 29th Infantry Division, or Fox Company of the 101st Airborne's 506th PIR. Plot http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Company_of_Heroes&action=edit&section=13 editSingle player campaign The single player campaign puts the player in some of the major American operations during the Battle of Normandy. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Company_of_Heroes&action=edit&section=14 editD-Day The game begins with Able Company's assault at Omaha Beach during the D-Day of Operation Overlord. Able Company must first breach the Atlantic Wall, then take out German bunkers overlooking the beach, and finally disable four 88 mm Flak 36 guns shelling the beach. The game also introduces two of the game's major characters: Captain MacKay and Sergeant Conti. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Company_of_Heroes&action=edit&section=15 editBattle of Carentan The next three missions are about Fox Company and their actions during the capture and defense of Carentan. On the night before D-Day, Fox Company must first regroup after the chaotic and hectic airdrops at the crossroads near Vierville, then disrupt enemy operations in rear areas by opening new drop zones, prevent the Germans from reinforcing the beaches by securing the road link, and destroying a convoy from the 91st Grenadiers. After D-Day, Fox Company is then tasked to capture the town of Carentan to secure a link between Utah and Omaha Beach and to defend it against the expected German counterattack. Though constantly bombarded by artillery and under siege by the 6th Fallschirmjager Regiment and elements of the 17th SS Panzergrenadiers with StuG assault guns, Fox Company is eventually relieved when Able Company with elements of the 2nd Armored Division arrives at the town and the link is finally secure. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Company_of_Heroes&action=edit&section=16 editBattle of Cherbourg Able and Dog Companies form the spearhead of the Allied advance to secure Cherbourg and its deep-water port. En route to Cherbourg, Allied supply routes are threatened by elements of the Panzer Lehr Division commanded by Hauptmann Schultz, and Dog Company is ambushed in the process. Able Company drives the Germans back and defend the supply route for the Red Ball Express to pass through, but earns the enmity of Schultz and the Panzer Lehr for the rest of the campaign. With the flank secure, the Allies continue to advance onto Cherbourg. Able and Dog Companies, supported by the 4th Cavalry and the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Texas_(BB-35) USS Texas], are tasked with capturing the port facilities. Although Able successfully subdues the German defenders and holds thousands of prisoners, the port has been badly damaged and is unusable to the Allies. Despite the empty victory, Able Company finds documents from an Axis bunker which shows a V-2 rocket launch site near Sottevast. Fox Company has been called in to conduct an airborne assault on the V-2 facility, while elements of Able Company rush to the site with armor support. The site is destroyed but Fox Company is seriously depleted. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Company_of_Heroes&action=edit&section=17 editOperation Cobra American forces begin to approach the city of Saint-Lô and Able Company begins approaching from the north. German defenders at St. Fromond hope to stop Able's advance by blowing up the only bridge leading into the town. Able Company is able to repair the bridge under fire from across the river, and drives the Germans out of the town. German defenders regroup and organize several counterattacks with Nebelwerfer support, but all assaults against Able Company are thrown back with heavy casualties. The Panzer Lehr mauls Charlie Company while attempting to secure Hill 192 at the outskirt of Saint-Lô. Able Company is assigned to take the hill. Hedgerows around the hill and hidden Flak 88 batteries provide a formidable defensive position against the Allies, but Able Company breaks through by employing bulldozer-equipped Crocodile Sherman tanks to plow through the hedgerows and flank the Germans. German defenders at Saint-Lô decide to hold out against American forces by heavily fortifying the city center, but Able Company plans to surround and trap the German defenders at the city center rather than a head-on assault. Although the operation is successful, some German units, including the Panzer Lehr division, manage to escape destruction. Able Company calls in the 8th Air Force in response and the escaping German units suffer heavily due to carpet bombing. Badly reduced and under constant air attack, the shattered Panzer Lehr division is chased by American forces, and Able Company managed to intercept what is left of the division at Hébécrevon. A raid is conducted with fast moving M10 tank destroyers against the Panzer Lehr's positions, and almost all of its armor strength, including the last seven surviving Panther tanks, are completely wiped out. However, during the course of the mission, Captain MacKay is killed by a Tiger I under Schultz's personal command. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Company_of_Heroes&action=edit&section=18 editOperation Lüttich MacKay's death puts newly promoted Sergeant Conti in command of Able Company, which has been put off the line and reassigned to relieve Dog Company at Hill 317 near Mortain. Unfortunately, the respite is only short, as Mortain becomes the focal point of a new German counterattack. Surprised and outnumbered, Able Company is forced to hold the hill until reinforcements can arrive in the morning. Dog Company arrives with armor support and Able Company digs in and consolidate their positions. German forces renew the counterattack in force after their surprise night attack failed to take the hill, but all attempts are beaten back. Able Company successfully forces the Germans to retreat after inflicting heavy losses, including the destruction of a Flak 88 battery. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Company_of_Heroes&action=edit&section=19 editFalaise Pocket The last section of the single player campaign deals with the destruction of German forces in the region. After suffering a string of defeats, the German Seventh Army is forced to retreat in order to avoid encirclement. Allied forces are racing to trap the Germans before they can escape. Baker Company is assigned to shut down one of the escape routes at Autry, but Schultz's Panzergruppe, which escaped the destruction of the Panzer Lehr division, annihilates them. Able Company rushes to the scene with an M26 Pershing tank and destroys Schultz's Panzergruppe in return. Schultz's Tiger is among those tanks destroyed in the battle. Chambois becomes the Seventh Army's last hope for escaping the Falaise Pocket. With heavy air cover, Canadian, Polish and American forces, led by Able Company, secure all bridges around Chambois and close the Falaise Pocket. The German Seventh Army attempts to break free, but they are met with heavy aerial bombardment and are forced to surrender. The campaign ends with the caption that Able Company had suffered an 80% casualty rate by the end of World War II. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Company_of_Heroes&action=edit&section=20 editDistinguished characters *Captain John MacKay :The commander of Able Company. He appears to be an Army Ranger by his character model, although he commands a regular infantry company. MacKay is killed when hit by a tank shell fired by Hauptmann Schultz. *Sergeant (later Lieutenant) Joe Conti :The game's narrator, served as the second-in-command of Able Company under Captain MacKay, and is a close friend to MacKay ever since recruit training. Conti is almost killed alongside Captain MacKay, and commands Able Company for the rest of the game. Joe Conti survives through the war. *Hauptmann Joseph Gunter Schultz :A German tank captain commanding the "Tiger Ace" from the Panzer Lehr division. He serves as the personal antagonist of Able company. He commands the Panzergruppe that attacks the Red Ball Express, where his unit first met Able Company. Suffering from heavy losses, he watches Captain MacKay from afar while his unit is busy retreating. He later crosses paths with Able Company while commanding the forces defending Saint-Lô, but manages to escape encirclement by Able Company. He kills Captain MacKay when his unit is destroyed while retreating from Hèbècrevon. Schultz later defends the Falaise Pocket from encirclement, attempting to delay the attacking Americans as long as possible. Able Company manages to surround his Tiger tank and destroy it. Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts (abbreviated CoH:OF) is the stand alone expansion pack to Company of Heroes, a real-time strategy game for computers running the Windows operating system. It was announced on April 5, 2007. Opposing Fronts was developed by Canadian-based RTS developer Relic Entertainment, and published by THQ. The game was released on September 25, 2007 in the US and September 28 in Europe. Factions http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Company_of_Heroes:_Opposing_Fronts&action=edit&section=6 editBritish 2nd Army The British are the new Allied army in the series. Their primary advantages are defensive. A greater number of static defences can be built, such as slit trenches and anti-tank emplacements. These emplacements have an associated population and manpower cost to prevent the map being overrun with defences.[2] Their standard unit, the Infantry Section, has stances that alters their speed and reactions. Though more effective than their American counterparts, most British infantry move slower in neutral or hostile territory unless led by a Lieutenant or Captain, and are extremely expensive. The British mainly rely on officers, such as the Captain, Lieutenant and the Cromwell Command Tank, to improve effectiveness.[3] British bases can be packed up and redeployed at different positions, but at the cost of freezing resource income. Veterancy for the British is also unique. Only officers can become veterans. As they gain rank, they gain new abilities and benefits for their soldiers. Infantry units can become more mobile if mounted in the Bren Gun Carrier, and engineers get support from the fast moving Stuart tank early in the game. The command trees for the British army in the game are based on famous branches of British and Commonwealth armed forces. The three trees are: *Royal Canadian Artillery: this heavy-artillery based regiment allows the player to use creeping barrage, counter-battery fire, overwatch, and allows the player to deploy Priest Self Propelled Gun[4] and supercharge artillery shots. *Royal Commandos: players who choose this regiment can deploy commandos,[5] who are adept at harassing enemy infantry, and the light Tetrarch tank via a Hamilcar Glider. As long as the glider remains on the field, it is capable of producing specific units (depending on which glider was called in), as well as in certain cases reinforcing nearby units, although all gliders apart from the HQ glider must be in connected territory to produce more units. Other abilities include tracing enemy troop movements, intercepting Axis messages, and planting decoy flares. This regiment is inspired from the Parachute Regiment, SAS and the 6th Airborne Division which saw action during the Normandy campaign. *Royal Engineers: this regiment gives players access to three variations of the Churchill Tank (MkIV, AVRE and Crocodile), improves entrenchments and the mobile H.Q, and allows tanks to entrench themselves. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Company_of_Heroes:_Opposing_Fronts&action=edit&section=7 editGerman Panzer Elite The Panzer Elite faction, called the Kampfgruppe Lehr, draws its inspiration from the mish-mash of German units that opposed Operation Market Garden, including the 2nd SS Panzer Corps and Luftwaffe paratroopers. The Panzer Elite mainly focuses on speed and vehicles. They cannot build static defenses apart from a few doctrine-specific heavy weapons. They rely instead on the use of halftracks and similar light vehicles to hold territory and increase resource income. Unlike other players' halftracks, Panzergrenadiers (the standard Panzer Elite infantry) can fire heavy weapons, such as Panzerschrecks, StG44 automatic rifles, or mortars, from inside the vehicle. They can also repair vehicles, but at a slower pace than standard engineer units. At the same time, the Panzer Elite has Kettenkrads and Bergetiger repair units. The three doctrines for the Panzer Elite are: *Scorched Earth Tactics: Allows the player to construct environmental defenses (i.e., blocking a road, or sector artillery). Players can also completely disable or booby trap strategic points or buildings and use the Hummel Mobile Artillery Platform.[2] *Luftwaffe Tactics: Allows the player to deploy Wirbelwind flakpanzers, Henschel Hs 129 and Fallschirmjäger. Luftwaffe ground forces install Flakvierling and FlaK 88 turrets, and can blanket areas with Butterfly Bombs (with Type 70 fuses). Players using this doctrine also receive advanced repair even if the player has not researched the skill yet. This allows them to repair vehicles far faster than the standard Panzergrenadiers. *Tank Destroyer Tactics: Allows the player to deploy Jagdpanther and Hetzer tank destroyers, while the infantry has improved ability to detect and engage enemy tanks. Panzergrenadiers also gain access to Tellermines and squads are issued a double number of Panzerschrecks and anti-tank grenades. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Company_of_Heroes:_Opposing_Fronts&action=edit&section=8 editBritish 2nd Army Campaign: Liberation of Caen http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Company_of_Heroes:_Opposing_Fronts&action=edit&section=9 editD-Day +1 The campaign starts off with the 3rd Battalion (aka Boudica's Boys), as they advance along a road towards the town of Authie. They are ambushed by the German II SS Panzer Korps forcing the battalion commanders, Major Blackmore and Captain Cutting, to pull the battalion back. After taking out the attacking force, the battalion bombards the town, taking it after dealing with the remaining German forces. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Company_of_Heroes:_Opposing_Fronts&action=edit&section=10 editOperation Epsom In Operation Epsom, British forces remobilize to take Caen, after the failed D-Day attack. The 3rd Battalion and the Royal Scottish Engineers Regiment are tasked with taking the bridges over the Odon and taking Hill 112. Under the cover of a creeping barrage, they take the hill, and the Royal Scots stay behind to fortify. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Company_of_Heroes:_Opposing_Fronts&action=edit&section=11 editOperation Windsor In Operation Windsor, the airfield at Carpiquet was the next objective of 3rd Battalion. Under the cover of night, a Royal Commandos regiment lands outside the airfield while Royal Canadian Rifles assault with light tanks and infantry, as it is bombarded by the Royal Scots Engineers. The commandos destroy German H.Q.s in the area, and move to secure the German defenses surrounding the airfield. However, it is discovered that the airfield is still operational. The next morning, the Germans launch an attack on the Canadians, but fail. The Canadians push to the airfield, and secure it after clearing the hangars. As Cutting radios the Royal Scots, he and Major Blackmore find that Hill 112 is under attack. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Company_of_Heroes:_Opposing_Fronts&action=edit&section=12 editOperation Jupiter In Operation Jupiter, German forces attempt to take Hill 112 from the Royal Scots. At night, they attack with heavy Panzers and Stormtroopers, trying to overwhelm the Regiment. With armour support from 3rd Battalion, the Scots retain control of the hill. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Company_of_Heroes:_Opposing_Fronts&action=edit&section=13 editOperation Charnwood In Operation Charnwood, 3rd Battalion, along with C company, enter the city of Caen after it had been carpet bombed the night before. Instead of destroying the German forces, it causes them to dig in deeper. Boudica's Boys push inwards and secure part of Caen, believing that the Germans have retreated. However, a recon force shows that the Germans have left behind a rear guard, and have placed mines, snipers and machine guns everywhere. The Battalion, along with the Royal Scots, move in and seize Caen, mopping up all remaining defenders. That night, the Battalion digs in, and defends against an aggressive German counter-attack by heavy Panzers and elite infantry. As in the previous mission, if a certain squad dies a soldier yells that Corporal Degnan is dead. Degnan is an unseen character that various lieutenants mention throughout the campaign (esp. in Mission 2). http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Company_of_Heroes:_Opposing_Fronts&action=edit&section=14 editOperation Goodwood In Operation Goodwood, with Caen in Allied hands, 3rd Battalion mobilizes south of Caen. It arrives at Bourgebus with B Company, and after destroying Flak 88s looking over their line of advance, destroys the remnants of the I SS Panzer Korps. 3rd Battalion, having done the British Army a great favour, are allowed to rest as 2nd Battalion continues the advance. The ending cutscene show Major Blackmore picking up a cross(award for bravery in combat) and contemplating the sheer scope of victory no word is spoken and he walks away. The campaign ends with the caption that after the war, Major Blackmore retired, dying in 1983. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Company_of_Heroes:_Opposing_Fronts&action=edit&section=15 editPanzer Elite Campaign: Operation Market Garden http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Company_of_Heroes:_Opposing_Fronts&action=edit&section=16 editWolfheze The campaign begins with Kampfgruppe Lehr training in Wolfheze, only to be interrupted as Allied paratroopers descend from the skies. The kampfgruppe use whatever men and forces they have to repel the invasion. After the attack, the kampfgruppe''commanders Major General Voss, and Berger brothers Aldrich and Wolfgang, find plans for the entire operation in a British glider. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Company_of_Heroes:_Opposing_Fronts&action=edit&section=17 editOosterbeek As part of the 'Market' phase, the British 1st Airborne Division attempts to capture bridges across the Rhine in Oosterbeek and Arnhem. ''Kampfgruppe Lehr is tasked with intercepting the British paratroopers before they reach Arnhem by destroying the bridge at Oosterbeek and defending against an Allied attack. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Company_of_Heroes:_Opposing_Fronts&action=edit&section=18 editHell's Highway Critical to Operation Market Garden, the British XXX Corps advance along Highway 69, known as 'Hell's Highway', to relieve the paratroopers. Kampfgruppe Lehr is mobilized near Valkenswaard and their objective is to occupy the town and delay XXX Corps. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Company_of_Heroes:_Opposing_Fronts&action=edit&section=19 editCleaning up After successfully thwarting the British 30th Corps at Valkenswaard and at Best, Kampfgruppe Lehr needs to remove all enemy forces inside the Netherlands. First, they move to secure Arnhem and recapture the bridge, the last bridge that the Allies need in order to start pouring into Germany. Having routed the 6th Airborne in Arnhem, the kampfgruppe recaptures Valkenswaard from the British 30th Corps, and finally remove the last paratroopers from Oosterbeek in the campaign's final mission. Of the two brothers, Aldrich dies in the battle, determined by how the mission is played. Aldrich is placed with a random infantry squad or vehicle and if that unit dies, a soldier will tell the player that Aldrich has been killed, or revealed dead in the ending cutscene with his older brother acquiring his belief that the war is over and his doubts about what's he's really fighting for. The epilogue reveals that Wolfgang survived the war and lived on in the rebuilt Berger family estate until his death in 1989 and is buried in the family graveyard. Extra Content revealed in the guidebook stated that he had a couple of sons, one named Aldrich for his fallen brother. Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor is a real time strategy video game stand alone expansion pack to Company of Heroes. It was announced on November 3, 2008 and was released on April 9, 2009. Plot Company of Heroes: Tales Of Valor has three single-player episodes. *'Tiger Ace' — Set in Villers-Bocage, the episode is a backstory of Kampfgruppe Lehr commander Major-General Maximillian Voss and Hauptmann Josef Schultz who is the main antagonist in the original. In the campaign, the two are members of a Tiger I tank crew as they penetrate the town. They are forced to abandon the tank when it was immobilized by an anti tank gun and try to escape British forces in the area. The tank crew returns the following day in one of two new Tigers, spearheading a Panzergrenadier assault on the town. In the ending, it is revealed that Voss was promoted to major-general and sent to Holland, setting the stage for the Opposing Fronts campaign. Schultz stayed in France and died during the defense of Autry. *'Causeway' — Follows a company of paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne Division as they try to secure the La Fiere causeway for other Allied forces to pass through the Normandy beaches. The campaign focuses on Sgt Wilson and Sgt Frank Craft, who is seen as a dead weight to the group. After the 82nd's airdrop goes badly, Wilson's Able Squad links up with Baker Squad and together they find paratroopers to send to the town of Cauqigny. After the two squads take Chef du Pont on the other side of the causeway, the paratroopers at Cauquigny fall back because of heavy German forces. The airborne forces retake the town and Wilson is run down by a German tank. As the Army's tank units head south from the beaches, the airborne finally takes the fight to the Germans with Craft leading the way. Able and Baker find and destroy the tank that killed Wilson as they assault a castle complex near the causeway. The ending cutscene reveals that Craft eventually took part inOperation Market Garden, where he dies in the successful defense of a bridge over the Maas river. *'Falaise Pocket' — The campaign features a unit of SS Panzergrenadiers and Wehrmacht stationed in the town of Trun. Because of a bombing run over nearby Chambois, the Germans figure that both towns must be held to allow the other units of Seventh Army to escape the area. The ending cutscene states that about 10,000 Germans were killed and many captured. Credits ''Company of Heroes Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Company_of_Heroes '' ''CoH - Opposing Fronts Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Company_of_Heroes:_Opposing_Fronts '' ''CoH - Tales of Valor Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Company_of_Heroes:_Tales_of_Valor'' ''Company of Heroes Wikia: http://companyofheroes.wikia.com/wiki/Company_of_Heroes_Wiki '' All information, citation, and references can be found on these Wiki's.